Hollow point ammunition is legal in California. State law does not ban civilians from buying, owning, or using hollow points, and the Penal Code does not list them among prohibited ammunition types. The one meaningful local wrinkle is San Francisco, where licensed dealers cannot sell expanding ammunition inside city limits. There is also a hunting-specific rule to be aware of. Otherwise, hollow points follow the same purchase and transport rules as any other ammunition sold in California.
Why Hollow Points Aren’t Banned
California draws its ammunition line around armor-piercing rounds, not expanding ones. Penal Code 30315 makes it illegal to possess handgun ammunition built from hardened metals like tungsten, steel, or depleted uranium.1California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 30315 Hollow points are designed to do the opposite. They mushroom on impact rather than punch through hard surfaces, which puts them outside the ban entirely.
Federal law works the same way. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 921(a)(17)(B), armor-piercing ammunition is defined by its material composition, and hollow points don’t meet that definition.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions So neither layer of law reaches them.
The San Francisco Exception
San Francisco Police Code Section 613.10(g) prohibits licensed firearms dealers from selling ammunition “designed to expand upon impact” within city limits.3American Legal Publishing. San Francisco Police Code SEC. 613.10 – License Conditions The Ninth Circuit upheld that ordinance in 2014.4United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Jackson v. City and County of San Francisco
Read the rule carefully: it applies to dealer sales and transfers, not to possession. Owning hollow points in San Francisco is legal. You just can’t walk into a shop there and buy a box. Most San Francisco residents who want hollow points purchase them from dealers in surrounding jurisdictions.
How to Buy Hollow Points in California
Every ammunition sale in California, hollow points included, has to go through a licensed vendor. Since July 2019, each purchase also requires a background check run through the California Department of Justice.5California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30312 These rules trace back to Proposition 63, which voters approved in 2016.
What you pay for the check depends on your existing records:
- $5 for a Standard Ammunition Eligibility Check, if you already have a firearm registered in the Automated Firearms System.
- $5 for verification if you hold a current Certificate of Eligibility.
- $19 for a Basic Ammunition Eligibility Check if you have no firearms on file with the DOJ. This one can take several days.6State of California Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions – Ammunition Eligibility
Online orders are allowed, but ammunition cannot ship to your home. Any online purchase has to be routed to a licensed California vendor, where you complete the background check and pick up the rounds in person.5California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 30312 Private-party sales work the same way: the seller delivers the ammunition to a licensed vendor, who processes the transfer.
Hunting Is the Big Exception
Since July 2019, California has required non-lead ammunition for all wildlife hunting statewide.7State of California. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, 250.1 – Prohibition on the Use of Lead Projectiles That rule wipes out traditional lead-core hollow points as a hunting option, even though those same rounds remain perfectly legal to own and use for target shooting or self-defense.
Copper and other non-lead hollow point designs are widely available and legal for hunting, as long as they contain no more than one percent lead by weight. If you’re specifically buying hollow points to hunt with, check the box for a non-lead certification before you leave the counter.
Self-Defense Use
No California statute limits what type of legal ammunition you can load in a firearm kept for defense. Hollow points are, in fact, the standard recommendation from most firearms instructors and law enforcement agencies for defensive use, because they reduce the risk of a round passing through the target and striking someone behind it.
No California statute treats the use of hollow points as an aggravating factor in a self-defense shooting, and no published California appellate decision has held that choosing hollow points undermines a self-defense claim. The legal question in any defensive shooting turns on whether the use of force was reasonable under the circumstances, not on the bullet design.
Transporting Hollow Points
No California statute singles out hollow points for special transportation rules. They travel the same way any other ammunition does. The restriction people run into most often is Penal Code 30310, which prohibits carrying ammunition onto school property unless it stays inside a locked container or a locked vehicle trunk at all times.8California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 30310 Violating that rule is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.
If you’re driving across state lines, the federal Firearm Owners’ Protection Act provides safe-passage protection when both your firearm (unloaded) and your ammunition are locked away and not readily accessible from the passenger compartment.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms The protection only holds if the ammunition is legal both where you started and where you’re headed.
Flying is more restrictive. TSA allows ammunition only in checked baggage, packed in an ammunition container or the manufacturer’s original box and declared at the ticket counter. Loose rounds in a bag won’t clear inspection, and ammunition is never allowed in carry-on luggage.10Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition Individual airlines often add their own weight limits or packaging requirements on top of the TSA baseline.